Moonlight
by fayechamberboobs
Summary: AU: Wherein Jennifer is a werewolf. Set pre 3x01.
1. Chapter 1

It's midnight, but the full moon is so luminescent tonight that even a human could see to pick their way through the forest. Derek scowls. This isn't the best light for tracking – sure, it can be easy to spot someone, but it's also easy to get caught. He tries to keep under cover as best he can but it makes following the trail slow work.

He's been attempting to corner one of the alphas. Derek thinks – hopes – that if he can get one of them on their own, it'll be easier to get some information out of them without being torn to shreds. All he wants now is a light at the end of the tunnel. Some sign that Erica and Boyd are okay, and that he might get them back. He doesn't understand why the Alpha Pack is holding them but not _doing _anything. No demands, no proposals. It's exhausting.

But finally luck's on his side – well, as much as luck is ever on Derek Hale's side. He's managed to pick up an unfamiliar scent in the woods tonight. He knows the scent of all his betas and Scott, so he figures it has to be one of the alphas. He feels like he's been right on top of the other wolf's trail for hours, but somehow it keeps managing to slip his sight. Derek is growing quickly impatient.

He pauses for a moment, trying to re-evaluate his plan. The scent is still strong, but for some reason he can't identify a solid direction to go in. Derek is beginning to feel like he's chasing a ghost. He breathes in heavily, thinking about giving up, when suddenly there is a hand against his throat and he's being shoved up against the tree behind him.

When he focuses his gaze, he's looking down on a woman with dark hair, her red lips pulled back into a snarl over pristine white teeth. Though she's smaller she's managed to catch him by surprise and use that to pin him. The bark of the tree scrapes roughly against his back through his cotton shirt and Derek growls.

"Why are you following me?" She spits out, fury etched into the lines of her pretty mouth.

"Why did you take my betas?" Derek snaps in return, and his hand comes up to grip her arm, tearing it away from his throat. She steps back, looking momentarily confused. Her brow is furrowed, eyes clearly suspicious, but she refrains from attacking again.

"What are you talking about?" She asks, causing Derek to narrow his eyes.

"I know it was your pack who took them." He accuses, but he's a bit put off by her denial. He hadn't expected a deceptive tactic out of the alphas.

"I don't have a _pack._" The dark-haired woman says, sounding bitter.

"Look, you may all be alphas, but you're still a pack – and you still have Erica and Boyd. I'm not playing your games anymore. What do you want?"

"Wrong again." She replies. She sighs and crosses her arms over her chest, looking impatient. "I'm not an alpha, either. You've got the wrong girl."

"Stop screwing with me –"

She growls and launches at him again. This time he catches her by her wrists before she can pin him, but her eyes are glowing. They're unmistakably yellow.

"Who are you?" Derek asks, momentarily bewildered. If she's not an alpha, then what is she doing in Beacon Hills? His grip around her wrists loosens, but he still holds her. She doesn't struggle.

"Don't you think you ought to ask a girl that _before_ getting so familiar?" She tilts her head, just the hint of a wry smirk on her lips, watching him.

"This is my territory. I have every right to be _familiar._" Derek grits out. He flashes red eyes. He doesn't know what it is, but something about this woman gets under his skin. It's the beautiful and feisty thing, he thinks, because that's definitely his type.

"Ooh, alpha eyes." She teases, practically laughs in his face. "That's cute. Sorry for _trespassing_, sweetheart." When he glares back, her face softens. "Really. Thought it was abandoned territory after Talia Hale passed. I was just trying to find a semi-familiar place to stay for awhile…"

Derek's jaw clenches. He drops her wrists. "You knew my mother?"

"You're a Hale?" Her eyebrows go up and he wonders if he's imagining the spark of hope in her eyes. "A Hale alpha…" The smile on her face is so genuine he's momentarily silenced. Derek had known that his mother was special, revered – but he never expected the ghost of her name to inspire such wonder in a stranger.

"My name is Derek Hale." He confirms after a moment. He feels the need to add, "I'm a new alpha."

"How is this even possible?" Her eyes search his, questioning, but he can tell she believes him. "Sorry. Jennifer. That's my name. Jennifer Blake." She steps forward, apparently unconcerned for the concept of personal space. Most wolves aren't, really, and Derek figures they've already broken that barrier anyway. But he's surprised when she reached out to touch his cheek gently. "You look like her."

"Who are you?" He repeats, this time a softer question. Jennifer smiles. It is utterly charming: bright and innocent as no wolf should ever look.

"I visited Beacon Hills years ago with – with my alpha at the time…" Her expression closes off momentarily, but quickly flickers back to cheerfulness. "I was just a kid, really. Seventeen. But I remember Talia. She was incredible."

Derek nods. "She was."

"I'm sorry you lost her." The gentle, almost-pitying, tone in her voice would normally piss Derek off. But Jennifer sounds absolutely sincere. She sounds…understanding. He doesn't want to thank her, can't get the words out, but he nods again and clears his throat.

"You…said you don't have a pack?"

A flash of anger runs through Jennifer's expression.

"Not anymore. I'm an omega." Her lips curl downwards, and she drops her hand from his face. "Do you mind if I stay in town? Just a night or two. I promise I won't make trouble."

Derek pauses, considering.

"Are you looking for a pack?"

"You don't even know me. Don't offer something you can't give me." Jennifer warns him, understanding what he's asking.

She's right. But he wants her to stay, somehow. "Then just hang around for awhile. And…we'll see how you fit in."

Jennifer smiles, cautious. Then, "Okay."

They end up stumbling through his loft doors an hour later, kissing desperately, and battling each other for dominance with their lips and tongues and teeth.

Derek guides her blindly towards the bed and they crash together into it. The moonlight casts a wide swath of light across his white sheets, illuminating Jennifer's pale skin as she strips off her shirt. She's grinning and her hair falls curly and wild around her shoulders. Derek thinks he's never seen anything quite so attractive.

She straddles him as he lies on the bed, and bends down just until her curls tickle his chest, smirking gloriously. Jennifer looks at him through thick lashes, pupils blown wide in the midst a yellow gleam. She runs her hands down his chest with claws out, slicing his shirt into tatters. Derek can't bring himself to care.

He wraps a hand around her neck and cradles the base of her skull with his fingers tangled in her hair. She lets him draw her down for a kiss, slow and deep. Jennifer flattens herself against him. Between the two of them, there's so much heat in their skin that Derek feels a bit like he's burning up. He flips them around and they roll so that he's on top, holding himself up slightly on his arms. Jennifer laughs, and she sounds so happy that he kisses her again just to stop from grinning like an idiot.

Jennifer's hands wrap around his back, grip hard as they continue to kiss. It's passionate, but they're still taking their time, learning each other like this isn't some one night stand but a real thing. He hopes it is. They've only just met, but Derek could see himself falling for someone like her. And, if he's honest, he could use another adult in his pack. He could use…a mate.

But that's too far ahead to think of. Derek knows he needs to learn to focus on the present: not dwell in the past or worry about the future. He'll start with her; he'll start with this moment. He lays himself on his side next to her, runs a hand down her side and pulls her close, tangling their limbs together. In response, Jennifer moves forward. Their noses touch and she pauses there, lingering in that gentle in-between moment.

"Derek," She says his name so quietly he needs his heightened senses to pick it up. "I'm glad you found me."

"Me too." He says, and dives forward to seal the kiss. They return to the clash of teeth and tongue, letting the energy between them build and skyrocket. It doesn't take long after that for them to get rid of their remaining clothes. The moon is peaking in the sky and it drives them forward. Derek has never had sex under the full moon, but he's heard it can be incredible for two wolves. He wants to experience that, he wants to drink Jennifer in and climb inside her skin. The wolf in him wants to claim her: _mine_, but he knows he can't do that. Not yet.

Instead he wraps himself around her and slips inside her, Jennifer clutching his back and arching into him with reckless abandon. Derek forgets everything but this feeling. It is the ecstasy of the two of them together, not holding back, and it consumes him. She is full of wild energy beneath him. The sounds she makes set his blood on fire and her _touch_ – Derek feels drunk and high and so, so full of clarity all at once.

When it is over they lay together comfortably entwined. It feels as though they've known each other for years. Derek admires the sight of her hair fanning out over his pillow, and the curve of her body as it disappears under his sheets. He wraps a protective arm over her and Jennifer folds into him, closing her eyes.

"You know," He begins softly, "I think you'll fit in around here just fine."

Jennifer laughs. It sounds like…pack. It sounds like hope.


	2. Chapter 2

Derek wakes up with the sun. He doesn't sleep much anymore. He's been like that since he was a child, although it's gotten worse since the fire. He finds he prefers the insomnia to the nightmares. But he's surprised that the little sleep he got in those few hours was peaceful tonight.

He turns on his side and sees Jennifer, looking soft and innocent in the dim light of morning, curled up on her side. Derek can't help but reach out and touch her cheek. He feels stupid, but it's like he needs to make sure she's real. It's been so long (since _Kate_, and he doesn't want to think about her) since he's had anyone fall asleep beside him.

Jennifer stirs softly underneath his touch. Her eyes blink open slowly, and Derek whispers, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." She just smiles, lazy and sweet. He takes this as permission to continue touching her, and brushes a strand of hair from her face.

"Good morning." She murmurs, voice thick and low with the dregs of sleep. "You know, I think I like Beacon Hills. It's very…welcoming."

Derek grins, a wide smile pulled out from somewhere deep within him. "I think it likes you, too."

Jennifer wraps a hand around the back of his neck, fingers just brushing the soft hair curled at its base. She pulls him forward for a kiss. They're both still sleepy, so it's no more than a sweet hello of a kiss, a kind of reassurance that they both still want each other in the light of the sun.

"I haven't had a full moon quite like that in awhile." Jennifer confesses as she pulls away, and flips over onto her back to stare at the ceiling.

"You've had a full moon like that _before_?" Derek asks with a gentle smirk.

"Maybe." Jennifer teases, and then shakes her head. "It's just been a long time since I've even seen another wolf at moontime. Or at all. I tend to avoid places I know are populated by packs."

Derek furrows his brow. Sure, it can be dangerous for an omega to confront particularly aggressive wolves, but most solo wolves actively seek others and try to find a new pack to join – it's instinct. He hesitates to ask her why she's ignoring this vital drive, but curiosity takes over. "You're avoiding other wolves?"

Jennifer understands the question for what it is, and frowns softly. "I had a bad experience with my last pack." She looks over at Derek, but her expression is muddled. He can't quite read her. "I'm not sure I like what being an alpha can do to someone."

"I...understand." Derek thinks of his uncle, who was once his best friend, and is now a psychopath at worst and untrustworthy at best. Sure, the fire was the start of it, but Peter's quest for alpha status (for _power_) had consumed him just as terribly as the flames.

"I'm not saying that applies to you." Jennifer says quickly, misunderstanding the sadness in his eyes. "A Hale alpha…well, what your mother was…you have it in your blood. You're leaders."

"I don't know about my skill as an alpha, Jennifer." Derek says, sighing.

"You shouldn't doubt yourself. You're Talia Hale's son."

"You don't even know me." He echoes her sentiment of last night. How can she have faith in him, in his ability to lead a pack, when she knows nothing of his failures? But then, how can he want her in his pack so bad when he barely knows more than her name?

"I have a feeling about you." She says gently, pauses. "You're the first wolf I've spent more than 10 minutes with since – " She breaks off, eyes darkening. "Well. For awhile."

"Jennifer…" Derek is touched by her confidence in him, but he wonders what's happened to make her so distrustful that she'll shut down the need to pursue something so integral to what they are. "What happened to you?" He reaches out to caress her cheek but she sits up, drawing the sheets around her chest. Jennifer bites her bottom lip.

"I think I know why you thought I was an alpha last night." She says, surprising him with the change of subject. Derek furrows his brow and sits up as well, facing her.

"What do you mean?"

"The alpha pack is here, isn't it?" Jennifer stares down at her lap.

"How…"

She glances over at him, finally. He's surprised to see tears threatening at the corner of her eyes. "My former alpha…she's one of them." Her lower lip trembles, and Derek reaches out instinctively to wrap his arms around her. He draws Jennifer in, feeling viciously protective all of a sudden. "Do you know what it takes to join the alpha pack – what Deucalion makes them do?" She whispers with a voice full of raw pain, her face tucked against his neck. "Kali…she killed everyone else in our pack. All of them. Everyone I'd known and loved…"

Derek is horrified. He knew the alphas were ruthless, cruel, but – this? He could never imagine hurting his own pack. "…but you?"

"She couldn't kill me." That trace of bitterness he remembers from last night creeps into her voice. "She told Deucalion she did, but…she couldn't…finish it." Jennifer swallows thickly. Derek thinks she's trying to hold back a sob.

"But she tried."

Jennifer nods against his neck. She draws a deep breath and pulls back, wiping furiously at the wetness on her cheeks. "God, I hate thinking about her. I hate that I let her get to me." She runs a hand roughly through her hair. "But Derek – we were mated. You know?"

Derek is momentarily stunned. He's never heard of a female taking another female as a mate, and he hadn't expected it of Jennifer, but he's no stranger to the concept of bisexuality. And it doesn't bother him. It's more the idea of someone betraying – of harming – their _mate. _It is like a sin for a wolf. To take a mate is the ultimate commitment: it is to make them both a part of you and your priority. He cannot imagine anyone willingly severing such a connection, especially one with Jennifer. And in such a violent way…

"I'm sorry." He says. It doesn't feel like enough, but he is utterly sincere, his tone full of all the things he can't say. _I'm sorry, I'm so sorry _and _I would never do that to you, I want you, you're everything. _

Jennifer leans forward and seals her mouth over his. They fall into the kiss, Derek comforting her, Jennifer taking solace in it. When they part for air they are lying down again, wrapped in each other's arms.

"I don't want to see her again." Jennifer admits, very softly. "But you need my help to get your betas back."

"I won't make you confront her." Derek says seriously. He doesn't trust the alpha – Kali – not to hurt Jennifer. Something in him wants to hide her away somewhere she can't be hurt again, though he knows he cannot. "I can handle this on my own."

Jennifer frowns. "Derek, they're stronger than you know. And you're missing two of your betas. Are you hiding some kind of werewolf army I don't know about?"

He sighs. "No, but –"

"Then you need my help." She stops him with a hand on his chest when he opens his mouth to protest again. "Let me do this. I_ need_ to do this. And, anyways, I want to stay with you. That will put me in their path eventually." Jennifer cradles his cheek in her palm. "If they have your betas, Derek…it's because they want you."

His face grows serious. "They want me to join them?"

She nods.

"I won't." Derek swears vehemently.

"I know." Jennifer replies. She kisses at the corner of his mouth. "I trust you."

Derek looks at her for a long moment. His heart blooms with her faith in him. _I won't hurt you, _he wants to say, but he was never great with words and so he kisses her again, hoping that says enough.

He's falling fast and deep.

He should be alarmed. He should be running in the other direction. He knows he can't always trust himself or his heart, knows that beauty and the sweet softness of a lover can be twenty times more dangerous than the sharp aggression of an enemy.

He doesn't care.

Derek remembers something Laura used to say in the rare moments when she was not Talia Hale's protégé and future alpha, but just a willful and warm-hearted teenage girl. _"When I meet my mate, I'll know it," _She'd tell him, a wistful smile on her lips. _"He'll be as powerful as the moon to me." _Laura would then turn to Derek and laugh, shaking her head, as if feeling silly for confiding in her younger brother. But Derek had always listened rapturously. Laura – more than even his father or mother or Peter – had been a superhero to him. Everything she'd said had felt like law.

Over the years the idea of that perfect mate had crumbled, weakened in the face of losing Paige and getting his heart torn out by Kate Argent. And yet…looking at Jennifer makes him remember his sister's words. Her hope. It makes him _desire, _in a way Derek had sworn he'd forgotten.

And he thinks, _this is it. She is it. She's my moon_.


	3. Chapter 3

"So how much do you know about the alpha pack?" Derek questions her they stand at his kitchen counter over heaping plates of pancakes. Most days Derek doesn't bother with anything other than toast or soggy cereal for breakfast, but he finds himself wanting to impress Jennifer. And he figures she probably deserves some pancakes after what she's doing for him.

"Not much." She admits with a small, apologetic frown. "I kept track of them only long enough to stay out of their way when I thought Kali might still come after me. But apparently she's satisfied I'm dead." Jennifer sighs, and stabs a fork into her first pancake with more force than strictly necessary.

Derek watches her quietly for a moment, just absorbing the sight of her standing there in his kitchen to the backdrop of a nearly empty loft. He's not one for personal effects – considering his transitory lifestyle – and he's never really felt like any place was _his_ since he was sixteen. But the loft is starting to look a little more like home with Jennifer in it. She's in one of his old t-shirts, the hem barely brushing the top of her thighs. She's also got maple syrup in her hair (she doesn't know it but he's not going to tell her, he wants to wait until it drips down onto her neck and then he'll lick it off). Though the circumstances are unusual, it feels sort of domestic. Derek likes it.

"Or she wanted to keep hoping you weren't." He suggests softly. Jennifer's eyes flicker up to his. She pauses, shakes her head.

"It doesn't matter. I'm pretty sure I can still track her." She says, and takes a bite of her food. "Kali is temperamental, but fairly predictable. I know her scent – and Ennis's."

"Ennis?"

"Another early member of Deucalion's pack." Jennifer frowns. "He used to be a good man. But then again, so was Deucalion."

He reaches forward across the counter, brushes the hair out of Jennifer's eyes with a tenderness that surprises even him. Derek knows he has to focus. He knows his priority: his betas, the teenagers he's taken under his wing. But he can't resist falling into her over and over again. Jennifer is such an unexpected blessing.

She smiles at him, an expression broken with one of surprise at the sound of the loft doors sliding open. He can see her tense – but the 'intruder' is just Isaac. Derek can smell him before he appears in the kitchen. Instinct causes him to step forward, his body just ahead of Jennifer's, even though he knows his beta won't hurt her.

His wolf is possessive already. He knows this could mean trouble.

"Uh – hi Derek? And Derek's…lady friend?" Isaac looks taken off-guard, his eyes darting about a bit. If it weren't obvious from what Jennifer's wearing, Isaac's probably also picked up the pheromones in the air. Derek probably should have thought about this earlier, considering Isaac's been crashing with him, but they spend the full moons apart now so he figured he could put it off. Isaac likes to stay at the graveyard; he says his anchor to his father is strongest there.

"Isaac. This is Jennifer." Derek glances at her, and she smiles tentatively. "Jennifer is an omega, she's uh - a friend of mine –" Both Jennifer and Isaac arch a brow in such a dramatic fashion that Derek almost comments on it. He refrains. "And Jennifer, this is Isaac, one of my betas."

"One of yours? So Deucalion has -?" Jennifer clarifies.

"Erica and Boyd." Isaac fills in, looking a little struck. "You told her, Derek?"

"She can help." Derek says quickly, but firmly. "She's…had experience with the alpha pack…" He says cautiously, glancing back at Jennifer. He doesn't want to reveal her history if she doesn't want it told, but she looks resolute.

"I used to be Kali's beta. She's in the pack." She tells Isaac. Derek can only barely pick up the tremor in her words. He's proud of her strength like she's one of his own. He supposes, in a way, she is. He's already accepted her into his pack mentally and emotionally – she just needs to say yes.

"Oh." Isaac frowns softly to himself. Derek knows his that he's sporting his 'conflicted' face. He doesn't trust easily, Isaac, but at the same time he wants to believe the best in people. Wants to surround himself with warm hearts and helpful hands. Even if sometimes, just sometimes, he doesn't think himself worthy of it.

Derek can relate.

"We're going to get your pack back." Jennifer tells Isaac. Even if it's far too optimistic a statement in Derek's point of view, it's utterly sincere, and his beta relaxes some.

They end up taking a week building their plan. Derek is secretly thrilled at how long he has her, sleeping in his bed (just sleeping, since Isaac is staying a bedroll – Jennifer chastised Derek about making the teenager sleep on the floor) and using his house like it's her own. Jennifer is starting to form her own little routine that intertwines with his. It's beautiful to watch.

Still, most of the nights are taking up with meetings – they call Deaton, though it takes some wheedling from Scott and name-dropping Talia to get him to come over. They spend hours hunched over maps, trying to figure out where the alpha pack is hiding Erica and Boyd, while Jennifer assists with her knowledge of Deucalion and Kali's patterns.

They're still hitting roadblocks, though, until one night Isaac calls Derek from the hospital.

"Derek, you need to get here, now." He sounds tense on speakerphone. Jennifer's eyes narrow and she withdraws her hands from the sink, abandoning the dishes and moving to Derek's side.

"What's happening?" She asks, and she hears Isaac take a rattling breath.

"The alphas – I found them, I think. Or they found me." He says quickly, as if he's distracted, nervous. "The girl – the one you know, Jenn, she's dressed up as a nurse and they tried to drug me –"

"Kali." Jennifer swallows thickly, sets her jaw. "Let's go. Where are you now, Isaac?" Derek's following her out the door, grabbing their jackets from the hooks Jennifer installed in the front hallway.

"Room 301. Scott's coming here too, his mom called him. I don't know where they are but I think – there's some girl who saved me – they're after me now."

Derek furrows his brow, confused. "What girl?"

"That's not important." Jennifer interrupts, and takes the phone from his hand. "We're coming to get you, Isaac. Cover your scent and find somewhere secure. Kali's a good tracker but she relies too much on her nose."

They're in the car and on their way in seconds, Derek gripping the wheel hard. He can see Jennifer eye his knuckles, turning white, but she says nothing. He can feel that she's just as tense. It's only been a week, but she's come to care for Scott and Isaac. Of course, Derek knows that's not all it is. There's a good chance she's going to see Kali again. He can only be thankful Jennifer still sitting in this car with him right now, determination etched into her features.

"You okay?" He spares a second to ask her even as he pulls the car, tires squealing, into the parking lot and jams the breaks only at the absolute last second. He will not waste any time in reaching Isaac; he cannot lose someone else. At the same time, he will not fault Jennifer if she wants to bolt. As connected as he feels they are, she has only been his (if he can say that) for a week – from what she tells him, she was Kali's for years. How is Jennifer supposed to face her ex-mate now?

But Jennifer just nods, roughly, car door open and feet touching pavement before he's even put the vehicle in park. Derek ends up jogging to catch up with her as she darts into the hospital. He may be an alpha, but if there's one thing Jennifer has over him it is agility. He's noticed it when they are training, helping Isaac and Scott learn how to fight. _"You're the muscle." _She said once, winking, running a hand coyly over his biceps. _"It's the only way you're gonna hold me. If you can catch me." _He wanted to tell her, _"I will. I'll never let you go." _But Isaac had coughed roughly and drawn them back to reality.

Once they reach the third floor Derek can tell something is wrong. Isaac's scent is there but it's not fresh, and there's a look of panic creeping up in Jennifer's eyes.

"She's been here." She says, shakily, and fumbles blindly for his hand. He lets her grip him as tight as she needs to.

"But not anymore?" He asks, carefully.

"No. But I can follow her." Derek is tugged along as she heads for the elevator, following the other-wolf scent that must be Kali's. He can smell Isaac just underneath it, but it's muddled. He frowns – something must have weakened his beta.

"They went in here, but…" Jennifer pauses as the metallic doors slide open. "She didn't stay. She went that way –" She points to the left. "But alone. Isaac stayed here."

Derek furrows his brow, confused. "That doesn't make any sense."

There's no point in going into the elevator, since they don't know what floor to take it to. Derek growls in frustration.

Jennifer pulls out his phone from the pocket she'd stashed it in, rapidly dials.

"No answer." Her lips are pressed thin. Derek's contemplating suggesting they follow Kali's trail and torture some answers out of her, despite the fact that Jennifer's former mate is the last person he wants to confront directly, when his phone rings just as she's handing it back to him.

It's Scott.

"Are you at the hospital?" Derek asks without preamble. Scott answers in the affirmative.

"I found Isaac. He's unconscious – I don't know – oh –"

"What? You don't know what?" Derek demands, trying to tamper down the urge to run and claw at the walls. Scott's not officially pack, but Derek cares about him as if he were one of his own. He needs to be where Scott and Isaac are.

Scott's voice is lowered. "I'm hiding out in the morgue. I figured all the, uh, scents would mask us – but I saw this big dude prowling around outside the window. Like – really big. Like, you should probably get down here levels of big."

"Are you sure he's one of them?" Derek asks carefully, even as he and Jennifer are pressing the 'basement' button for the elevator.

"It's Ennis, probably." Jennifer supplies, frowning, but she's much less tense than she was when tracking Kali. "Bald guy?" She asks into the phone.

"Yeah."

Jennifer rolls her eyes. "He's dumb and aggressive. Try not to have a head-on confrontation." She advises.

Derek hangs up as the doors ding and slide open to reveal a hallway that's lit exactly like every horror film hospital's basement. He scowls.

They make their way silently, following the arrows that point towards the morgue. Scott was smart, because Derek can't smell much over the stench of rotting bodies. But this also means that he and Jennifer will have little warning if Ennis is around.

They're lucky – they reach the morgue without sighting him and dart inside. Derek looks around and there's no sign of Scott, until the omega emerges from a small side room, wheeling Isaac.

Jennifer is kneeling in front of the chair before Derek quite gets there, her hands reaching out for Isaac's face.

"He hasn't stirred at all?" She asks, turning his face in her hands. Isaac shows no signs of waking.

Scott shakes his head.

"They probably gave him horse tranqs or something." Derek grits his teeth, furious at the violation. These alphas have no right to toy with his pack. Why they think this will convince him to join them, he doesn't know. "We've got to get him out of here. Either they're trying to get all of my betas or he saw something they don't want us knowing."

Jennifer stands. "It would help to know where Ennis and – where they are."

Scott frowns, "I haven't seen him since I called you guys."

"We'll just have to take our chances and try and get Isaac to my car. If Ennis comes – I'll fight him."

Jennifer looks concerned, but she doesn't argue with him about it. It's weird, Derek thinks: he's technically working with two omegas to save his one remaining beta and yet these are the two people in the world he'd pick to have on his team if he had the choice. He trusts them, and even if they don't owe him allegiance he considers them under his protection. When did his idea of pack become so flexible, he wonders?

Together they exit the morgue, Derek leading while Scott steers Isaac in his chair and Jennifer flanks them. They take every step like they're waiting for someone to pounce but they make it into the elevator and out the hospital doors without incident. In fact, they're nearly at Derek's car when Jennifer snarls, sensing something he doesn't. It freezes Derek and Scott in their tracks.

"Now Jennifer, this is a surprise." A male's voice, deep and mocking, sounds from just beyond Derek's car. A moment later Ennis steps out. Derek can see why Scott was preoccupied with how large this guy is.

Jennifer steps forward in line with Derek, nostrils flared as she breathes hard. "Ennis." She replies through gritted teeth – or, he should say fangs, as she she's beginning to shift.

"You can relax." He says. "Kali's gone. That's what you're worrying about, isn't it? Don't worry. I'll give her a kiss hello for you." Ennis smirks.

Ah. Derek understands, suddenly. Kali didn't just attempt to kill Jennifer – she cheated on her, found a new mate. Derek's surprised Jennifer hasn't tried to rip her throat out in retaliation – or Ennis's. It's what Derek would have done, but perhaps he's more prideful. More bitter.

He instinctively steps forward, angling his body in front of Jennifer's. This only makes Ennis's smirk widen.

"Oh, _that's _why you're here, Jennifer. You've found another alpha. Guess you have a type, huh?"

"What do you want, Ennis?" Jennifer asks scathingly, ignoring the alpha's taunts.

"I think you've probably guessed." Ennis replies, eyes flickering to Derek. "We didn't think you'd catch on so quick Derek, but we didn't count on Jennifer coming to your aid. Pretty sure Kali still thinks she killed her, but I was always suspicious."

"I'm not going to join you. So you can pack up and leave, and give my betas back." Derek says flatly. His hands clench into fists and the wolf wakes up inside of him. Adrenaline spikes the air.

"You may change your mind about that." Ennis says, but doesn't wait for a reply, just launches himself towards Isaac. Derek intercepts him, tossing him bodily onto the pavement a few feet away. It doesn't take long for Ennis to get back up and suddenly they're rolling around on the ground, wrestling each other, gravel scratching into Derek's back through his cotton t-shirt.

Out of the corner of his eye he sees Jennifer's boots go by, followed by Scott's sneakers and a set of wheels. They're getting Isaac into his car. Derek spares half a second to be thankful before Ennis's claws rip through the flesh of his chest. The sting is sharp, followed by a bloom of warmth as the blood starts to trickle. It's deep. He groans, pushes at Ennis's chest as he hears the car start.

"Derek!" He hears Jennifer's cry, but he can't get out from under the other alpha's weight.

"Go!" He says, claws at Ennis's face. "Go without me!"

Something knocks Ennis off of him, and he scrambles up only to find that it was Jennifer, launching herself at the bigger wolf. Luckily she's managed to squirm out of his grip and is standing a few feet away while the alpha is still getting to his feet. She locks eyes with him across the small space and they both dart for the car. Jennifer gets to the passenger side just as Ennis catches up with Derek at the back door. One well-aimed kick sends Ennis stumbling back enough for Derek to slide into the seat next to a prone Isaac, and Scott steps on the accelerator, sending the car screaming out of the parking lot. Derek would normally be worried for his car, but he's just grateful they've got away. He collapses back against seat, exhausted.

"Derek, are you okay?" Jennifer's turned around in the front seat. He's looking at her through dropping eyelids. The world's going kind of fuzzy around the edges. Derek spares a thought to the wetness on his chest, thinks maybe the cuts were even worse than he thought.

"Yeah." He says, or thinks he says, before the world turns black.


End file.
